G8 summit finishes in UK, next summit due in Russia, 2014

Russia during its chairing role in the organisation will also prioritise the issues of security

LOUGH ERNE, June 17 (Itar-Tass) - Russia’s President Vladimir Putin will participate in the second working day of the G* summit, which finishes in Lough Erne on Tuesday. From the coming year, Russia will be playing the chairing role in the organisation.

Russia’s Presidential Aide Yuri Ushakov told Itar-Tass “Putin will invite his counterparts to the next G8 summit, which is due in Sochi in summer of 2014.”

“We have practically agreed on the timing of the summit in Sochi, and at the meeting in Lough Erne Putin will make an announcement.”

On the second day of the summit, the meeting will feature a special discussion of cooperation between the G8 countries in fighting terrorism.

“The threat of terrorism has gained new urgency lately,” Ushakov said. “This may have been caused among others by the events of the “Arab Spring,” which pushed the terrorist activities in the regions of the Middle East and Northern Africa.”

“It is highly probable, the G8 meeting will also pay attention to fighting radicalisation of the public moods, including its inter-confessional and inter-ethnic components, to fighting incitements to terrorism, the inadmissible use of the media space for terrorism purposes,” the presidential aide said.

Russia during its chairing role in the organisation will also prioritise the issues of security.

“A detailed agenda of our chairing is being processed now; presently, I can say it will include responses to new security threats - including those to the global level,” Putin said earlier.

Tuesday’s second plenary session “will be devoted to the topics like trade, transparency, and taxation,” Ushakov said. Another meeting will be in the outreach format - it will feature leaders of invited countries /Liberia, Libya, Mexico, Senegal, Ethiopia/ and leaders of international organisations /the African Union, European Union, World Bank, IMF, OECD/. During the final session on Tuesday, the delegations will discuss results of the two-day work.

The summit is expected to adopt a Communiqu·, which will reflect positions of the G* counties on major directions of its activities.